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Health Care: headlines from the week of September 6, 2010
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UnitedHealthcare of Northern California has new regional CEO
09/08/2010 07:16 PM
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Dan Rosenthal, who formerly headed UnitedHealthcare’s regional unit in Florida, was quietly named chief executive of the giant health plan’s Northern California operations in July but just arrived here full time earlier this month. (UNH)
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State will audit Sacramento County mental health funding
09/08/2010 05:39 PM
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The state Department of Mental Health will conduct an audit of how Sacramento County spends Proposition 63 mental health funding to serve poor patients before it releases any more of the money, county officials have learned.
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ARMC CEO Jack Drew retiring
09/08/2010 04:20 PM
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Athens Regional Medical Center and Athens Regional Health Services President and CEO John Alan “Jack” Drew will retire Dec. 31, 2011.
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RRD International doubles space
09/08/2010 03:20 PM
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RRD International, a Rockville biotech and pharmaceutical product development company, has doubled the size of its headquarters.
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Health reform hasn't affected Md. insurers' rates
09/08/2010 02:58 PM
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Maryland’s top insurance regulator said Wednesday that most health insurers doing business in the state have not asked for premium rate increases as a result of the federal health care reform law.
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Cubist expanding in Lexington, adding jobs
09/08/2010 02:17 PM
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Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. is growing its existing footprint in Lexington, Mass., adding 104,000 square feet of lab and administrative space that will house 150 new employees, the company announced today in a ceremony attended by Gov. Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Susan Windham-Bannister.
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Columbus gets $4.8M for home rehab
09/08/2010 02:03 PM
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A $4.84 million piece of federal funding is headed to Columbus as part of a $1 billion wave of awards announced Wednesday to help communities buy and redevelop or raze foreclosed properties.
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Minnesotans to study German health care system
09/08/2010 01:40 PM
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Health care experts from Minnesota and Washington, D.C., will meet in Berlin next month to study the German health insurance model, the University of Minnesota said in a news release.
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M. D. Anderson Orlando expands
09/08/2010 01:08 PM
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M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando has started providing cancer services at Orlando Health’s Dr. P. Phillips Hospital.
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Human Capital: People on the move, Sept. 8
09/08/2010 12:46 PM
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Halloran Consulting Group of Waltham added Simona Cipra as a managing director and Bradley Yount as chief operating officer. Previously, Cipra was VP of global clinical operations for a mid-sized, oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Simona held senior leadership roles in clinical operations and program management at Eisai Medical Research, Boston Scientific Corp. and The Medicines Company. Yount is the founder and president of Odyssey Bay Ventures, a firm that owns portfolio companies such as Enefco International of Auburn, Maine, and FMB Inc. of Harrison, N.J.
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Glaxo taps Goldman Sachs managing director Dingemans as CFO
09/08/2010 12:14 PM
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Simon Dingemans, managing director of Goldman Sachs, is leaving the investment house to take the job of chief financial officer for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which has North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park. (GSK) (GS)
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ZymoGenetics shares soar 84 percent
09/08/2010 11:34 AM
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Shares in ZymoGenetics Inc. soared more than 84 percent in Wednesday trading, one day after the announcement that the Seattle biotech is being bought by drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for about $885 million. (BMY) (ZGEN)
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GE Global wins $538K NIH grant
09/08/2010 11:01 AM
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GE Global Research has won a $538,000 National Institutes of Health grant to develop technology that would aid in the study of individual cells that grow outside and inside the body.
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Jennerex nets equity, drug licensing deal
09/08/2010 10:33 AM
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A French pharmaceutical company will take equity in Jennerex Inc. on top of a potential $116 million licensing deal for the San Francisco company’s experimental tumor-killing virus.
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SelectMRI bought by NextImage Medical
09/08/2010 10:05 AM
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Radiology services management company NextImage Medical Inc. said in a press release it has acquired Jacksonville-based SelectMRI, a provider of diagnostic imaging services to the workers’ compensation industry.
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iPierian raises $6M more in second round
09/08/2010 09:43 AM
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Stem cell drug company iPierian Inc. raised another $6 million in its second round of venture funding, bringing the total for the round to $28 million. (GSK)
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Styx founder joins GeoVax
09/08/2010 09:28 AM
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HIV/AIDS vaccine developer GeoVax Labs Inc. has hired rock band Styx founder Chuck Panozzo as a spokesperson for the company’s vaccines.
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Oishei grant lifts senior programs
09/08/2010 07:07 AM
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A new grant for the WNY Alliance for Person-Centered Care will expand education and training programs for senior care providers in the region.
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Onyx strikes cancer drug deal in Japan
09/08/2010 03:01 AM
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Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. will receive $59 million upfront in a licensing deal with a Japanese company for two experimental cancer-fighting compounds, including the potential blockbuster multiple myeloma drug carfilzomib. (ONXX) (CELG)
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Tissue Genesis gets NASA award
09/07/2010 07:41 PM
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Tissue Genesis has been awarded the NASA Ames Team Honor Award for its work in implementing cell biology research on NASA’s Shuttle Discovery launched earlier this year from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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SSM named one of the area’s best builders
09/07/2010 05:48 PM
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PRIDE of St. Louis Inc., a construction labor-management organization, named SSM Health Care one of the area’s best builders at an awards luncheon downtown last week.
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Duke spinoff Humacyte hires Carrie Cox as CEO
09/07/2010 05:30 PM
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Duke University spinoff Humacyte Inc., on Tuesday announced the appointment of Carrie S. Cox as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective Sept 20. (MRK)
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Children’s Hospital doctor indicted on drug counts
09/07/2010 04:29 PM
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A doctor at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora who also was a pediatrics professor at the University of Colorado has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 655 controlled-substance and conspiracy counts, U.S. Attorney for Colorado John Walsh announced Tuesday.
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D.C. collects little from tax amnesty deal
09/07/2010 02:49 PM
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Delinquent D.C. taxpayers coughed up only $2 million of the $170 million they owe during the first month of a rare tax amnesty period, meaning the District must collect another $18 million before the end of the month just to break even.
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Washington above average for stress
09/07/2010 11:41 AM
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Washington ranks as the 15th-most stressful city among the nation’s 50 largest metros in a stress ranking from Portfolio.com.
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Striking Mott’s union back at the table
09/07/2010 09:58 AM
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A union representing some 300 workers on strike against Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group has agreed to return to the bargaining table, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union website.
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Obama offers $50B infrastructure plan
09/06/2010 07:22 PM
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President Barack Obama proposed spending $50 billion on infrastructure projects nationwide in an effort to spur job creation during a Labor Day speech at a union event in Milwaukee.
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BryLin continues to rebound
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Five years after emerging from bankruptcy protection, BryLin Hospital is in its second year in the black, with high hopes for the future.
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Arizona’s dental dilemma
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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The recession has stolen tens of thousands of jobs from Arizonans, leaving them without health benefits and leading many to seek free or discounted care.
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New psychiatric, rehab hospital beds proposed for Lake, Volusia
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Two health care companies plan to seek state permission to start new medical programs in Lake and Volusia counties. If approved, these projects would create up to 128 temporary construction jobs and up to 203 permanent health care jobs, based on staff sizes at comparable facilities.
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Stem cell ruling stuns UB
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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A judge’s order ending federal funding for research using embryonic stem cells could have a $4 million negative impact on the University at Buffalo.
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Roundtable: Health reform 2010
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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In the summer of 2009, The Business Review brought together eight health care, insurance and businesspeople for a frank discussion about the state of the health care system and what they hoped, and feared, would come out of the reform effort.
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What does the reform act look like? At best, it’s ‘incomplete,’ panelists say
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law on March 23, although many of its provisions do not take effect for a few years. The act promises to insure 32 million additional Americans by expanding Medicaid eligibility, establishing an individual mandate and requiring employers to provide insurance—or pay a penalty. It also sets new rules for insurance policies and establishes an exchange to help people find affordable coverage.
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South Jersey doc seeks to buy Lower Bucks Hospital
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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A South Jersey cardiovascular surgeon who has spent more than two years shopping for a hospital to purchase has emerged as a potential buyer for Lower Bucks Hospital, which has operated under bankruptcy court protection since January.
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Useful e-medical records: Just around the corner? Or light years away?
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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The federal government has made electronic medical records a top health care priority. Beginning next year, providers will be rewarded for meeting stringent “meaningful use” standards. Later, the incentives will turn into penalties for those who do not make the grade.
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Centocor takes lead in immunology
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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HORSHAM — The introduction of two products last year — Simponi and Stelara — has helped Centocor OrthoBiotech capture about a third of the $11.3 billion immunology market, and take a leadership position in the product segment over rivals Amgen and Abbott Labs, according to President Robert Bazemore.
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Panelists: Meaningful reform is a must, but we might be running out of time
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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In a recent poll by the Business Council of New York State, employers ranked health care as their top cost-of-doing business-concern. Meanwhile, Mercer, a global human resources consulting firm, put the upstate average premium at $8,308 per worker in 2009, and saw a rise of another 10 percent this year.
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Atlanta cancer lab plans $15M expansion
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Alpharetta’s CSI Laboratories plans to invest $15 million in a relocation and expansion that will generate up to 100 high-skilled jobs.
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Mayo earns high marks for crisis communications
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Mayo Clinic’s pristine reputation for quality and safety in medical care was recently dealt a rare blow when it announced that an employee had exposed transplant patients to hepatitis C through used syringes.
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Cell Point’s imaging agent ready to join cancer fight
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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A Centennial company says it has developed the first new universal cancer imaging agent in more than 25 years, and a global consulting firm predicts it will bring in more than $1 billion in annual gross revenues nationally by 2015.
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Obesity looms as weighty employment issue
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Rapid rises in the nation’s obesity rate and health insurance premiums could take hiring decisions based on a candidate’s weight from anecdote to policy.
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Kaiser workers prepare for historic union vote
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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The stakes are high on all sides as 44,000 Kaiser Permanente workers — including 4,000 service and technical workers in the Sacramento region — prepare for the largest-ever private-sector union election in California.
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‘Medical home’ concept catches on
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Eleven Cincinnati physician practices have embraced a new model for providing efficient health care – and are getting higher reimbursement from insurance companies.
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Wanted: a Charlotte leader to head med-school efforts
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Mark Billings continues to push for establishing a medical school in Charlotte. But the Presbyterian Healthcare president wants a local business executive or other community leader to step forward to spearhead that effort.
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Small biz, big rates
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Small businesses say they are seeing little relief on their health insurance bills, despite the headline-making health care premium rate settlements between Gov. Deval Patrick’s Administration and state insurers.
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County decision frees up space at medical center
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Besides replacing an outdated complex, a proposal to build a new Milwaukee County behavioral health facility opens the door for a possible 3 million square feet of development over the next 12 years at the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa.
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North Adams hospital bonds hit with default
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Investors holding bonds issued by Northern Berkshire Healthcare and its subsidiary North Adams Regional Hospital recently received a default notice after cash on hand dropped below required levels.
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Carolinas HealthCare’s systematic growth
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Despite the recession and national health-care reform, Carolinas HealthCare System experienced its fastest pace of growth ever in 2009. It added six hospitals in the Carolinas to boost the system to 32 institutions. Arrangements vary, but those hospitals are either owned, leased or managed by the system. Last year’s deals added more than 850 licensed hospital beds and 5,500 employees in the Carolinas.
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Value-based health care could control rising costs
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Have we exhausted all available strategies for containing the growth of health-care costs? Many experienced plan sponsors are asking that very question, for good reason. If you assess the success of our past efforts to control health-care costs, you have a right to be skeptical.
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Keeping brains working
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Millions of dollars — much of it pouring into the Bay Area — is translating into cutting-edge research and potential drugs to tackle Alzheimer’s disease.
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Genentech and ‘death receptor 6’
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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If “death receptor 6” sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, Marc Tessier-Lavigne is Alzheimer’s patients’ Flash Gordon.
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Hospitals prep to meet language rules
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Language Line Services, which provides over-the-phone and other language interpreting services to thousands of hospitals and health care organizations nationwide, said it’s offering a package of instructional materials and consulting services to help hospitals meet new accreditation standards that take effect in January.
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Highland Hospital set to start $668M rebuild
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Alameda County Medical Center is finally moving ahead with a $668 million rebuild of Highland Hospital in Oakland. Demolition of some existing structures has started, and a $300 million bond issue is slated to go out in October.
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UAB logs another spinoff
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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Research findings from the University of Alabama at Birmingham recently spawned a biotechnology firm specializing in protein-based drugs and vaccines.
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CPMC will sell dialysis unit to DaVita
09/06/2010 12:00 AM
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California Pacific Medical Center is moving ahead with plans to sell its outpatient dialysis services to DaVita Inc., a huge Denver-based dialysis specialist, for an undisclosed sum.
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